Bearing



April 7, 1925. 1,532,993

' C. E. DURHAM BEARING mea umn s, 1921 Patented Apr. 7, 1925.

UNITED s'rArEs .PATENT ori-ical CAR-ROLL E. DURHAM, OF BEDFORD TOWNSHP,`WAYNE COUNTY, MICHGAN, AS- SIGNCR OF ONE-HALF T THOMAS B. MGORE, OF DETROIT, MICI-IGAN.

BEARING.

Application filed March 9, 1921. Serial No. 450,822.

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CARROLL E. DURHAM, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the township of Redford, in the county of V'Vayne and State of Michigan,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bearings, of which the tollowing is a speciiication, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

lf the engine shaft of an automobile, truck or similar vehicle is not Afirmly held against longitudinal movement there is ratt-le, noise, and destructive wear and such slipping and slapping of the engine crank shaft causes rapid deterioration of the power plant. Many troubles about an automobile may be attributed to rearward end thrust of an engine crank shaft, a transmissio-n shaft, or any shaft in the line drive of an automobile. For instance, constant end thrust on engine bearings :and bushings permits end play of vital engine parts. Timing gears, connecting rods, pistons, magneto parts, transmission gears, and brake ab and clutch mechanism may be affected unless an engine crank shaft is positively held against rearward end thrust, and my invention aims to correct and impro-ve the mounting of an engine crank shaft by a novel bearing that may be used at various places about an automobile, but more particularly between the rear extending drive and crank or transmission shaft of the power plant.

My bearing is of the self centering vand anti-frictional type and the bearing includes a novel adjustable spacer member which permits of the bearing being properly fitted in a transmission casing or housing to p revent end thrust of a transmission or engine 4 crank sha-ft `extending therein. As there may be slight variations in the size or location of part-s with which the bearing is associated, the bearing has been made adjustable so that there cannot be any lost motion when the bearing is properly installed.

My invention further aims to provide a bearing which is a bench assembled proposition and may be easily and quickly adj usted so to properly lit ina clutch spring casing, serve as an end abutment therefor,

. placed, and 'associated with a.V clutch pin or and firmly engage the usual universal joint cap at the end of the transmission casing ot the power plant. The bearing may be constructed, as a runitary device `t0 include the spring casing and be handled as an automobile accessory, sothat when an automobile or similar vehicle is overhauled, the'V bearingv may be installed to eliminate the above mentioned and other troubles experienced in certain types of automobiles. 6o

Then again the bearing may be made to. lit in the usual springv Vcasing and replacethe' bushing which usually extends therein.

rlhe construction entering into my invention will be hereinater described by aid of the drawing, wherein Figure l is alongitudinal sectionalV view of the bearing showing its location within a vtransmission housing;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly broken away and partly in section, of an adjustable spacer member.; and Y Fig. 3 is an end view of the same.v

In order that my bearingmay be 'understood when used'in connection with a well known typev of automobile power plant, there is shown in the drawing, a portion of a 'Y transmission casing or housing 1 containing a clutch mechanism 2 which includes a. transmission drive plate assembly 3 provided withY a sleeve, or power transmission membert intowhich extends an'engine crank shaft 5' and a portionof a universal joint. 6 torming part of a rearwardly extending drive shaft (not'shown). vThe universal joint 6 is ordinarily located ina fro-nt ball cap or end abutment '7 into which the sleeve 4 ex'- tends, and on said Ysleeve is af vslidableclutch 8 adapted to be shifted by a Vrelease 'fork 9 forming part of the clutch control. The clutch shift 8 is normally vengagedby ya coiled compression spring 10 encircling the sleeve 4, and it is on this sleeve and in the spring 10 that my improved bearing is abutment ll extending' transversely. of the sleeve 4 with its ends protruding therefrom. Grdinarily there is a bushing 26 in the bali cap or abutment 7 which extends into a spring supporting casing 17, but this bush- W0 the casing 17.

' able ball race member 111, wit-hin the cage.,

the cylindrical Vspring surrounding ing is made shorter or dispensed with so that the bearing may be easily installed in The bearing comprises a cylindrical sheet metal cage 12, containing aninner lixedball race member 13 and an outer movable ball race member ld'with a series of balls 15 in- 1 terposed between said race members. The

outer. endjoi the cage v12 is peened or inturned, as `at 16, so as to retain the mov- ,20 so that diametrically opposed notches may receive the protruding endsof lthe pin or abutment 11, and thus prevent rotation of the `casing 17 relative to the sleeved.

Interp'osed between the ball race member 13 and th'e inturned endV of thel casing 17 is an adjustable spacer member, composed of aninnermember 21 and an outer member '22. The inner member 21 has an end flange 723 abutting the movable ball race member '-13 and said inner member is enteriorly "member, and casing screwthreaded as at 241, to receive the outer member 22, these screwthreads 'permitting of Vthe outer member being adjusted relative to the inner member so as to increase or` Vdecrease the longitudinal dimension of the Yspacer member;

j Both members have the ends thereof provided with a series of notches 25, preferably two in the outer member and Afour in the inner member, and

the notches ot the outer membe are adapted to Yaline or register with notches 01" the inner member', whereby these -n'otches may provide clearance Vfor the spring ,pin 11, as best shown Fig. 1.

, 'The manner in which the inner and outer members "21a1nd 22 are articulate-d permits of the spacermemb-er being adjusted so that said `member and the ball 'bearing cage'may be accurately jitted `between the ball cap 7 and the pin 11, and with the protruding ends ofl the pin Y11 Ibearing against the end of the spacer member,"or said spacer-member against the casing ilange 19, any thrust on they sleeve l will V be received by the "balls 15 within the Vcage 12 and the ball race ,member 14 bearing against the cap 7.

Since vthere may be end pressure against-the ballV race member 1FL', vthis ball racem-ember will be held stationary against the V'cap V7v andthe ball race member 413, cage 12, spacer `17 will revolve as a unit in synchronism with the s eeve 4l. It

is now apparent that the adjustable spacer member may have its component parts properly positioned so as toill the gap between the. anti-frictional bearing and the pin 11, Iand thus prevent lost motion.

What I claim is Y 1. In a transmission assembly which includes a drive plate assembly sleeve, a ball cap, and a spring casing :`-an end thrust kbearing .extending into the. spring casing against said ball cap and adapted to receive end thrustv of said sleeve, and an adjust-k able spacer member forming part of' sai-d Y bearing.V f

parts by which its Vlongitudinal dimension may be increased to snugly fit oetweensaid pin andy said abutment. .y A

L1. vThe combinaton of a` power transmission member having an abutment, an end abutment in opposed relation -to said member abutment, and an end thrust lbearing between said abutments and having adjustable parts by which vits longitudinal dimension Vmay Jbe increased or decreased vto :snugly iit between 4said abutments.

5. In a transmissionassembly including a bearing, -a casing about sai-d bearing, and a pin transverse to the longitudinal axis of the assembly :.means for maintaining said bearing in spaced v`relation to said pin, said means being composed oit adjustable parts housed within-said casing andhaving aconiiguration to engage said pin, and preventV accidental adjustment of one part vrelative Yto the other.

6. In a transmission assembly including a bearing, 'and al pin transverse to the longitudinal axis ,of the assembly :-means maintaining said bearing in spacedyrelation to said pin With's'aidfmeanshavinga configurahaving co-acting Yelements mounted respectively on said vhousing part `and,` on the shaft free of said `spring support. v

8. In a motor vehicle, a crank shaft, a

universal joint housing, transmission means in said housing, a clutch spring pin associated with the crank shaft, a cylindrical member having its front end notched to engage said Clutch spring pin, and a thrust bearing between the lrear end of said cylindrical member and said housing.

CARROLLy E. DURHAM.

Witnesses:

OTTO F. BARTHEM ANNA M. Donn. 

